WWE
Every person who’s ever wrestled has been given a terrible gimmick. It’s part of the business. Steve Austin got to the WWE and became the Ringmaster (after barely missing out on Otto Von Freeze). Kevin Nash was some sort of genie. Dusty Rhodes wore polka dots. Every person has sat across from a booker and had to gulp through pretending like he or she loves the idea being presented. For the wrestler, this horrible idea can be career-ruining.
But for people of color and women, it’s a whole different experience.
For Shelton Benjamin, he had to sit across from Vince McMahon while he pitched the idea of a stereotypical “Mammy” character to play his mother — a move that degraded the mother and infantilized the wrestler. For Juventud Guerrera, he had to pretend he was enthused that he’d be part of a lawnmower-riding trio. For the NXT divas, they had to grin while they were told to “wrestle like divas.” For subjugated people, bad gimmicks carry heavier burdens than just being “lame” or hard to get over. The bad gimmicks challenge their moral fiber and make them go against the people they represent on-screen. Black wrestlers aren’t given bad gimmicks that represent them as individuals. They’re given gimmicks that represent stereotypes about the overall black population. The same goes for any minority group.
Most wrestlers, though, don’t dare challenge an idea handed to them from on high for fear of losing a push or pissing off the people in charge. So they just shuffle off without saying anything — trying to make the best of their gimmicks. This is just how wrestling works. Women and wrestlers of color, though, especially can’t voice their hesitations because that action carries an added risk to their job security and how they’re perceived. On Monday night Naomi — in a move that I’m not totally convinced wasn’t at least partially storyline motivated — retweeted a ton of fans who wondered why she wasn’t on RAW. She was engaging with fans and using them to voice her frustration. Plenty of wrestlers have used Twitter in this fashion. However, when Naomi did it, she was characterized as throwing a “tantrum.”
Look, I’m not going to run down the author of the post that appeared on this site because if he didn’t write a title like that, someone else somewhere else would have — and if they didn’t about Naomi on Monday, they would have about another woman of color some other time. But that’s what happens: when people of color — especially women — voice their opinions, they’re labeled as aggressive or childlike or violent.
Just look at this Salon tweet about Nicki Minaj’s comments on Miley Cyrus:
She calls it the rear view
Wonderful
This should’ve been the article written in the first place, great work
Agree.
If only I could pour a dump truck full of +1’s here.
I…still don’t know what the hell is going on.
Me neither. It sucks when I don’t know why I should or shouldn’t be pissed.
The apology post generated clicks on the original Naomi article, so they’re taking it even further.
It’s funny that of all the times I throw up my hands at Nate’s clickbaity headlines/writing style (which I don’t necessarily blame him for – these are surely the result of Uproxx’s editorial dictates), the one time something he says causes a “controversy” I don’t see what the issue is. And I’m about as much of a hyper-liberal “SJW” as you’re likely to find.
I’m not trying to be derisive, but is she not already a top diva? She was picked as part of the “Revolution” and has been in the title hunt before the teams were picked. Granted lately she’s been underused, but so has Becky & Alicia Fox. I think creative has just cornered themselves w/ the whole 3 teams of 3 approach so no one’s really be able to shine
And people need to accept that Nikki is far and away the best non-horsewoman Diva and its really not close.
Really she shouldn’t have had a say in the title picture at that moment at all, she’d been pinned clean by Nikki and Paige in the previous weeks. It was assumed she was there so when the teams obviously split up after Summerslam and they could get some proper stories and rivalries going she’d be first to put Sasha over.
(Please don’t make me mention Sasha’s Tumblr again…)
@Birdman
NEVER!
Hi guys, I’m pretty liberal and all for the Black Lives Matter movement, but I’m pretty sure any wrestler doing what she did would’ve been called out for it. I don’t believe Naomi has been saddled with a stereotypical “black” gimmick, either, as far as I know. This is a person endorsing statements that criticize her company. That’s how I saw it.
are you sure any wrestler who did that would’ve been called out on it? because Dolph Ziggler did the exact same thing and was treated a whole lot nicer
Sasha does this on the daily.
I already said pretty sure. I don’t remember Dolph doing it, but I do remember stories on this site about other wrestlers.
If Sasha does it regularly and doesn’t get shit for it, then it shows they’re treated inconsistently, but not based on race or gender.
Are we saying Ziggler didn’t catch heat for a Twitter rant? Because he definitely did, and, as far as I know, Naomi hasn’t gotten into any trouble whatsoever.
I’m pretty sure Dolph had heat from that. I remember those comments coming right before he looked like a chump for weeks on end, which is WWE’s favorite punishment if you step out of line in the slightest.
In what universe did Dolph catch flak for shooting on WWE? Tons of fans, including on here, were applauding all those tweets and app-exclusive promos he was cutting throwing WWE under the bus for refusing to get behind him when he was close to white hot last year. Not once was he ever accused of “ranting” or “throwing a tantrum.”
Maybe we are talking about different things? I thought you were referring to getting heat from his employer, which he totally did.
As for Naomi, I don’t think she got heat from anyone, not here or in WWE. So… what’s the issue?
Hmmm…
So are you ignoring all of Naomi’s botches, some which could have easily injured people, or simply didn’t see them?
Yes. Have you ever read any David D? Slightly more than casual fan level knowledge stuff. “10 factys about Ric Flair that pretty much everyone, except me, knows”. Scintillating stuff.
Seth Rollins nearly killed both John Cena and Sting in the ring, and that table spot with Kane at HIAC wasn’t the prettiest either. Let’s not push him either!
Did her Lawyers call you guys or something? Maybe I’ll just stick to Squared Circle Reddit and Wrestling Observer from now on.
Can you though?
They’re better sites with better and more timely content that don’t beat me over the head with a social agenda at the expense of that content. Additionally, arguing that Naomi is one of the best in even this laughably thin division is disputable at best, ridiculous at worst.
^^^^^ XD
Right, but… you said you were going?
Yeah but he won’t. It’s too hard to get angry about “political correctness” on a board that’s 95% GIFs.
Can you throw in a “cultural marxist” next time? I almost have Bingo.
Top diva? Not after throwing that tantrum.
I don’t know why both thoughts can’t exist at the same time: she deserves to be a top diva, and her raft of retweeted were a tantrum. It was a tantrum when Punk went on Cabana’s podcast, it was a tantrum when Dolph kept going on radio shows and shooting on WWE, and it was a tantrum when Naomi retweeted a bunch of increasingly not-PG calls for her to get pushed. I understand that the rules actually are different when dealing with groups that have historically been maligned, but calling a thing what it is, even if that thing is unpleasant (and I’m talking about the retweeted to forestall any confusion), shouldn’t be against the rules.
Pretty much exactly this.
It’s the problem when people put so much focus on race that it overshadows everything. People are no longer individuals but instead become the entire representation of their race. Conservatives do it when attacking people and liberals do it when defending the same people.
In this case it all just seems like fabricated scandal clickbait.
They write an article about Naomi throwing a “tantrum”, some people comment that the word tantrum is kind of stupid considering the stuff she posted and nothing to do with her being black, we get a random apology as if Birch had gone on a racial rant, and now an article praising Naomi as a great and revolutionary.
The focus so much on her being a black woman that we must respect they completely ignore that Sasha Banks is the IWC favorite wrestler (male or female) not because she’s black but because of her talent. This article does more to discredit Naomi than help her by being entirely focused on her gender and race. It’s simply stupid.
I tend to agree with you, Rickymex.
There was simply no reason to create a social issue here where none existed. The entire tone of the original article wasn’t “Naomi did something terrible because bitches be crazy,” it was “I hope Naomi doesn’t get into hot water because of this inadvisable thing she did.” There was pretty much nothing negative about it.
Also, every article about her going back forever has had a joke about her ass-based finisher, so why did this one need to be edited?
If Naomi doesn’t want me to think of her as childish, she should probably use something besides not-so-great memes on Twitter to make her point.
detecting a lot of redness and nudity coming from the areas where @Johnny Slider, @the sidewinder, @BOtista, and @Taco_Jones all habitate. you guys really like to get mad online, don’t you
Honestly, I don’t even understand what you’re saying, but I wasn’t mad and thought I was pretty level-headed in my post. I didn’t complain about SJW’s or claim anyone was “butthurt”.
I don’t understand the “redness” and “nudity” references here, but I’m not mad. I thought what I said was pretty levelheaded and not written with a lot of emotion. I didn’t complain about SJW’s or say anyone was “butthurt”.
I wish I understood how to use Uproxx’s comment sections. That definitely makes me mad online.
@Taco_Jones- I’m pretty sure nobody knows how it works, including the dingbat(s) that devised the damn thing.
That was a pretty nice, long post of mine that didn’t show up in these comments. Thanks.
Aaaaaaaand now it’s here. WTF.
I don’t want to be a pessimist but even if they push her (they won’t) creative will just have her win the belt with her ass to mouth move! Hashtag Divas revolution……
I don’t understand the hostility… do you not want opinions in your articles?
Naomi’s improved, but I’m not sure I’d call her one of the best yet. But I guess when you’re thrown in a team with someone like Sasha Banks just about anyone is going to look like a scrub, so I don’t know. I do wish she’d drop the ass based offense, because that would help for me; unless your name is Yokozuna and you’re dropping five hundred pounds on someone, I can’t take it seriously. Same went for Mojo Rawley and everyone else that’s ever done it.
I’m with Dan. There’s more than enough crap on the internet that reads like a press release. We don’t need more. I like that the staff here actually has the ability to talk about things how they like. It’s a fair part of why I bother coming.
Awesome job explaining racism to a black guy, Dan. Really put him in his place.
I’m not sure if you think my sentiment was aimed specifically at the author or what, but it isn’t. It’s a general response to the piece.
I came here for the comments.
So..did they scrub the original article? I’m confused.
Nice piece.
Hopefully it doesn’t end up like Cracked.
Wow. First KSK died from internal BS politics, and now WL is dying a slow, sad, hyper-PC death from equally BS politics.
So what exactly is so BS about Nate’s article being oddly critical towards Naomi in an unintentional but still incredibly derogatorily dismissive way that is almost exclusively used against men and (especially) women of color who voice their displeasure with something?
Sgt. Kabukiman –
The fact that almost nobody took it that way, as evidenced by the target audience of the article giving a collective “Huh???” in the comments.
@Dan Peterson:
First of all, you’re absolutely wrong if you’re saying no one took it that way, because I remember several people taking Nate to task in the comments for his wording. I was one of them (though I think my comment might have been eaten by Uproxx’s generally shitty commenting system). I got no problem with Nate, but he got the response he earned because that wording was fucked up, no matter how innocuously he meant it.
And really, what you mean to say is that you didn’t take it that way. And I’m guessing you didn’t take it that way because you are (like most wrestling fans) white and middle-class and insulated by your privilege. Suffice it to say, though, there is a long history in our culture of dismissing people of color who speak out against perceived mistreatment by accusing them of irrationality. They’re called “angry;” their comments are considered “rants;” their attitudes are taken as “tantrums;” and it’s all a concerted effort to make them seem like they’re being unreasonable because if we pretend these people are just crazy, we don’t have to consider that they may be right or telling the truth.
I highly recommend you read this Flavorwire article if you still don’t get it:
[flavorwire.com]
Naomi is one of the best just like I am wealthy.
I am not wealthy.
They should fire Naomi and take both Usos with her.
Thank you so much for writing this, David.
Scrubbing the comments as well. Let’s try again without to overt hostility, and see if this comment is allowed to remain.
This site continually lectures its readers as though they have no clue that women are objectified, minorities are oppressed, and the backstage culture of wrestling has long been a boy’s club. Just last week there was a long-winded rant about Youtube comments calling Nia Jax fat. Why are you yelling at us because YouTube commnents are filled with trolls? Why does the backlash against anything that can even slightly be perceived as racist or misogynistic extend all the way back to a single word in Nate’s title? I’m a white male software develeoper, and I guarantee you if I started tweeting memes about “Where is my f’ing raise?” at my company’s official twitter, it would most definitely be categorized as a tantrum.
This site’s editorialzing has swung way off balance – there is a way to support women, support minorities, and discourage discrimination, without devolving into a complete censorship of real discussion. The average comment on WithSpandex makes it clear that we’re all PC, bro, and we support wrestlers who deserve it, regardless of gender or race. This isn’t a troll-fest like YouTube comments, where we need to be lectured to like children on a regular basis via editorializing.
BOtista –
It seems to me like you take the opinions of the articles to be directed at you. They aren’t judging you. They’re talking about what they think and feel about wrestling and the wrestling community. That’s it.
I’d be a lot more sympathetic towards Naomi in this article if the header wasn’t the time she tried swipe Sasha’s look. Between that and when she gave JoJo a pat on the head a la Dana Brooke, I just can’t get behind someone who rips off women not on the main roster yet.
Dan, they’re judging the audience of WithSpandex in general. They’re judging Nate for his word choice, and defending the stance that it was offensive. I disagree with both of those things – the word choice had nothing to do with her being a black, female wrestler, but the reaction to it (which seems to be entirely confined to the writers on the site and not its readers – hence the general reaction of, “lolwat?” in the coments on the original article) is entirely motivated by an overreaching attempt to avoid any sense of impropriety, lest a handful of people cry foul. And it’s this very overraction I disagree with – that leads to a complete stifling of real discussion and creative freedom. If Nate writes another article about any female / black wrestler, it will almost certainly be constrained by the lens of, “Let me make completely sure that there is no way this could be construed out of context as offensive,” which is not something a blogger on a wrestling site should have to be concerned with. We should be talking about wrestlers as entertainers, people as people. I promise you that if it were Wade Barret re-tweeting “Where’s my f’ing push?” and Nate used the word tantrum, there is no manufactured controversy here. There is a clear delineation between cultural sensitivity and outright pandering.
Two scenarios to consider for Raw:
1. Naomi squashes Sasha
2. Naomi loses to someone, anyone, and immediately throws a tantrum that’d make Missy Hyatt yank the needle out of her arm long enough to smile and nod knowingly.
What do you do, With Spandex? WHAT. DO. YOU. DO.
Not to be pedantic but…
It was Otto Von Ruthless and that was one of the terrible names they suggested when they transitioned him to Stone Cold.
Now I will read what is undoubtedly a great article. Seriously David, love your stuff.
Well said… Now let’s leave the overreaching use of the word ‘tantrum’ to Michael Cole.
What a strange feeling. I’m almost always down with David D.’s take, I’m more of a Naomi defender than most, and I tend to disagree with almost everything Nathan Birch farts out, and yet… I feel like David is completely off-base on this one.
Talent level, whether she should already have a top spot or not, and what any of it has to do with race and/or gender strike me as completely irrelevant to this situation. Arguing over extenuating circumstances doesn’t pass muster in the face of something being so clearly the thing it was (especially when the offense itself was something so incredibly insignificant), and what it was was a tantrum. Simple as that.